


Kids Make for Great Tax Deductions

by ThefirstRanger



Series: Tax Evasion AU [5]
Category: The Brotherband Chronicles - John Flanagan
Genre: F/M, Hal and Stig adopt a kid, Lydia/Ingvar is platonic, M/M, Marriage for tax evasion purposes, OC, Stefan and Jesper adopt a kid
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:47:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27663584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThefirstRanger/pseuds/ThefirstRanger
Summary: Stefan and Jesper finally decide to properly evade taxes and it doesn't go quite as planned thanks to several new additions to the brotherband family.
Relationships: Hal Mikkelson/Stig Olafson, Ingvar/Lydia (Brotherband Chronicles), Jesper/Stefan (Brotherband Chronicles)
Series: Tax Evasion AU [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1657705
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Kids Make for Great Tax Deductions

**Author's Note:**

> This fic feels like a logical escalation from the other works in this series, but also at the same time it feels very out of character, so who knows. I'm just going with it though.

Things had changed for the Herons over the years since they'd returned the Andomal. They had matured into competent adults, some of them had gotten married, and almost all of them desperately evaded their taxes. It was Heron and Skandian tradition at this point. Years had gone by after the first shocking revelation that Ingvar and Lydia were married and things only escalated from there. Little did any of them know that this year would change everything.

The competition had shifted away from Lydia and Ingvar against Hal and Stig to Hal and Stig against Stefan and Jesper, who had finally gotten married after dancing around the issue for years. 

Jesper and Stefan's wedding wasn't as secret as Lydia and Ingvar's nor was it quite as classy as Hal and Stig's midnight wedding. The only attendees were the Herons, Stefan's family, and the blacksmith that Jesper would occasionally steal from, but would help out at other times. It's cool, they've made their peace with it. The smith even gives them their rings. 

Rollond marries them because apparently all of their friends are involved at some level in the local government. At least with Rollond, you knew he was there because he had no ulterior motive other than being a part of the government, unlike certain healers that they knew. Rollond earnestly explained that he had a good internship that would put him in a good position to become a jarl and oberjarl down the road. This was too much long term thinking for Stefan and Jesper but it made Rollond happy. 

Of course, with Jesper and Stefan finally marrying, it meant Hal had to find more sleeping space on the Heron. This led to rather cramped nights, but they made it work and everyone thought that was the end of having to switch up space on the Heron. Little did they know.  
\--  
One of the routine trips the Herons take to a local fishing town took Hal and Stig on a little detour as a favor for Svengal who told them to "take a message to my little friend Bjorn." The way Svengal said this felt vaguely threatening and the men weren't sure if that was a good thing or not. 

The "little friend Bjorn" in question was not at all little, but he was easy enough to find by the docks. The rest of the Herons had gone into a restaurant that Edvin had been wanting to visit for some time now and it was up to Stig and Hal to deliver Svengal's message. 

They knocked tentatively on the door and Hal stepped back, ready for anything. When the door opened up, a giant of man greeted them. He looked utterly exhausted and the faint cries of a baby could be heard in the back. 

"Whad'ya want? Who are ya?"

Stig took a step back at the sight of the larger form. "We're from Hallasholm. Svengal sent us with a message?"

Bjorn blinked his eyes and opened the door even more. "Well come on in."

Inside the slightly cramped house, Hal and Stig awkwardly sat at a wooden table as Bjorn poured himself some ale. He didn't say anything and just stared at the two Herons. 

"Uh," Hal started off. "We have a message for you from Svengal."

He passed over the folded letter and Bjorn took it, unfolding it with his calloused fingers. Bjorn peered over it, scrunching his brow before letting out a huge peal of laughter that startled Stig. 

"Ha! I knew my cousin was up to no good!" roared Bjorn, suddenly in a much better mood. 

"You're glad he's in trouble?" asked Stig. 

Bjorn laughed. "Of course! He got Svengal to write to me and now I have to bail him out from jail by the coast. It's been ages since I've had any proper fun or a proper sailing trip!" 

"That's what you consider fun?"

Hal got a mournful look. "You raise a kid and come back and tell me what you consider fun then."

There was really no arguing with that sort of logic. At least they had finished the favor for Svengal. Hal and Stig rose up from the table as Bjorn started scurrying around the house, muttering to himself under his breath. 

Before they could get out the door, Bjorn scratched his beard. “This might be an odd question, but do ya think you could look after Ulfred while I’m gone? His mam is out sailing the world and I just don’t feel right taking him with me on a cross ocean trip.”

“You’re going to entrust your baby to us?” Stig’s voice nearly cracked with disbelief. 

“You’re good kids and I don't have any family around to take care of him. Why not entrust him to people I know will take him back to a village where I know people? Svengal and I go way back so he'll help out too."

There was a story there that Hal definitely wanted to hear, but that would have to wait for another time.   
\--  
Now it wasn't an uncommon occurrence for Hal and Stig to go off in a town somewhere and come back to the rest of the Herons carrying a large sack, but they had never come back late carrying a baby before. It was a concerning sight to see from the deck of the Heron.

“Did you steal that kid?” Edvin’s eyes were wide with concern. They had been accused of many unfounded crimes, but actually kidnapping a baby might be the worst of all.

Stig scoffed. “No, of course not!” 

That didn’t soothe Edvin’s fears and he thought that it was a perfectly legitimate question to ask since his captain and right hand man had not been carrying a baby two hours ago. “Please tell me why you have a random kid.” 

Hal's reply was a bit too blasé. “His dad, a friend of Svengal's named Bjorn, gave him to us to take care of while he sails on a dangerous year-long trip.”

Edvin’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. He looked around at the other Herons perhaps as confirmation that he wasn't crazy and that this conversation was actually happening. 

“Didn’t something like this happen to Gilan’s mentor?” asked Lydia to Stefan as an aside. He nodded in confirmation. 

“Do you two even know how to raise a kid?” asked Ingvar. “Oh Gorlog, that baby is going to be raised by all of us, isn’t it?” 

They were getting off topic and Hal was frankly a little peeved at the digs at his potential parenting skills. 

“Stig and I are going to raise Ulfred wonderfully and you’ll get to be the wacky aunts and uncles. You’re not raising him,” Hal gestured furiously with the child in his arms. “We are!” 

“Wait, his name is Ulfred?” The question made Hal’s blood freeze. He hadn’t comprehended what the name meant to a certain member of his crew.

Ulf clutched his heart and started to tear up a little. “You named your son after me?” he asked, all choked up. That was the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him.

“He was already named when we got him!” exclaimed Stig who knew where this was going. 

That didn’t matter to Ulf. The tears were flowing freely now and he crouched down to be eye level with the baby.

“Ulfred, I’m your godfather Ulf.” Ulf tried to shake Ulfred's hand but Stig slapped it away. 

"You're not his godfather!" yelled Stig. 

Looking down at the baby, no one had ever seen Ulf look this tender and it ticked some of them (mainly Lydia) off.

“What?” screeched Lydia. “You can’t possibly make Ulf the godfather!” No one was sure if Lydia was upset because she wasn't named the godfather or if she found the whole premise ridiculous. 

“How many times do we have to tell you that Ulfred was already named when we got him and we only have him for a year!” 

Jesper grinned. "So what you're saying is the godfather position is open?" If he could manage to coerce Stig into giving him the position, Ulf would be furious and it would be an amazing prank.

"NO!" shouted Hal and Stig in unison.  
\--  
Hal and Stig quickly settled into life with a child and Ulfred quickly grew accustomed to life in Hallasholm. It helped that he had all of the Herons doting upon him. Ulfred was just so cute; they couldn't help themselves, especially Ulf. Ulf quickly became Ulfred's favorite Heron besides Hal and Stig, a development that caused some internal strife within the brotherband because they had all wanted to be Ulfred's favorite. 

Still, regardless of who was the favorite or not, the Herons enjoyed spending time with the little boy. They were currently on their way to Hal and Stig's house to play with the child. As the Herons approached the dark blue door, Hal opened it for them, sticking his head out and waving. 

"Hey guys! Glad you could make it!"

"Ulf, Ulf!" Ulfred toddled up to one of the twins and held up his arms. Ulf gladly obliged the only child he had ever enjoyed playing with and picked up Ulfred in his arms, enjoying swinging him around on the grass. 

"How's my best friend in the whole world doing today, little buddy?" 

Lydia muttered to Stefan from the side of her mouth. "At least we know which twin is which now." It was a common problem for most members of the crew and this was now an easy way to solve that pesky problem. Ulfred seemed to be the only person alive who could tell the twins apart.

"I thought I was your best friend!" cried Wulf. No one was really sure if he was actually betrayed by a one year old or merely kidding as part of the prank. 

"You don't hold a candle to Ulfred." Again, no one could tell if Ulf was joking or not. 

"Ugh, I'm getting antsy. Tax season is getting close," complained Jesper. "Gotta think up something new. Why do we always have to escalate things?"

"Because all we ever do is escalate situations." Ingvar pulled some dirt up from the ground and let it drift into the wind. "And I'd say we have two or three weeks left." 

"How do you do that?" 

Ingvar scratched his head. "Do what?" 

"You know," Jesper gestured mildly at the horizon. "know when tax season is coming."

"You just feel something in the breeze and you know."   
\--  
Tax season is felt deep in a Skandian’s bones, not unlike how storms are felt. It’s in the creak of the knee, the tightening of a grip on a sword, a tingle in the ribs, and most importantly, an ache in the back of your mind. Though Lydia was not born a Skandian, she could feel tax season coming perhaps more acutely than anyone. She woke up one day, months after they had gotten Ulfred, and knew from the way her knuckles flexed that it was time. 

Exactly three hours later, Lydia and Ingvar informed the Oberjarl that they would be taking a trip to Limmeat in a week’s time and would not be back for an unspecified amount of time. Erak’s face turns red as Ingvar casually mentions that they’ll be checking up on their rather large bank account and his face turns a truly alarming shade of purple when Lydia mentions she might get an inheritance from her grandfather. 

“Let’s go relax and count our tax free money, the wind to my sails." Just to rub it into Erak's face even more, Lydia rested her head onto Ingvar's broad shoulder and smiled beatifically up at the Oberjarl. 

"Whatever you say, my beloved darling."

It was a personal goal of Ingvar and Lydia's to come up with increasing cloying pet names that would eventually get Erak to snap his ancestral staff in half. He hadn't so far, but Ingvar could tell that they were getting close to Erak's tipping point. That would have to wait until after tax week though.  
\--  
Hal and Stig were sitting together enjoying the nice breeze when they felt a shadow cross over them. Opening his eyes, Hal saw Lydia and Ingvar in the meadow. Of course it was them, probably come to gloat about their tax evasion plans. Well, Hal wasn't going to go down without a fight.

“We aren’t going to pay taxes this year. You don’t even know what we have planned.” Hal started off the conversation strong. 

“I don’t care what you do,” replied Lydia promptly. “All I care about is being surrounded by emeralds in the next few days.”

Ingvar sighed wistfully. “It’s always been my dream to swim through a pool of coins and emeralds.” 

“Sometimes I can’t stand you two.”

Despite Stig's insult (which lacked true bite or scorn to it) Lydia and Ingvar flopped down next to their friends. 

"Where's Ulfred?" 

"Karina and Ulf are taking care of him. My mom has really taken to being a grandma." Karina, Hannah, and Thorn had fallen in love with Ulfred immediately and spoiled the little boy even more than Ulf did. Personally, Lydia thought that Ulfred was going to have a hard time adjusting to a normal standard of living once he was back with his father, but she didn't tell that to anyone. Who was she to judge someone's parenting styles?

"A little fishy told me that Jesper and Stefan are gunning for our tax evasion spot this year. I'd watch out if I were you." Ingvar's warning fell on deaf ears. Hal and Stig were very confident in their victory and how could not be? They had gotten a child to write off as a tax deduction! Little did they know.  
\--  
It was the dead of night which any self-respecting thief will tell you is the best time to plan crimes. Not that Stefan and Jesper regularly met up at night to plan crimes, not at all. Right now, they were in the middle of discussing covert plans for tax day this year. The dull ache in their knees told them it was fast approaching. Jesper was currently tossing ideas out for Stefan to approve.

“We could… steal everyone’s possessions so Erak is too fed up to try and look for them. Can't be taxed for possessions if you don't have any.” 

Stefan shook his head. “Edvin will know it was us. He’s like a freaking bloodhound when it comes to this stuff." Both men cursed Edvin's keen mind and desire to obey the rules. The healer had become too invested in the complicated Skandian tax plan. It had started off fun at first, but now Edvin's dedication was inconvenient. 

“We could pay someone off to overprice Hal and Stig’s possessions so they pay more taxes?” Now that sounded promising to Jesper. He wasn't sure how much money it would take to bribe Edvin, but it was probably lower than the taxes they'd have to pay. Or maybe they could bribe one of the Wolves to do it. Frey maybe, or Vali. 

"It's a good start but we have to do something really flashy to get their attention." 

Suddenly, a twig snapped in the forest and both men swiveled around to search for the source. It was imperative that no one else find out about their tax dodging plans. Stefan tightened his grip around his axe.

Leaves rustled and out of the berry bush, a small figure ran out, quietly growling at Stefan and Jesper. They stared at the little girl, no more than two, who was crawling around in a circle. 

Her light brown hair was tangled up with sticks and leaves and her clothes were absolutely covered in dirt. The couple stared at the little girl in complete shock, completely unable to say anything. 

"Is that-"

Stefan nodded slowly. "Yep."

"Huh."

"Yep."

As Stefan and Jesper were watching and trying to figure out what to do with the wild child, the little girl growled at them and crawled a little closer. Jesper crouched down and tried to offer his hand to the girl, who sniffed it and then suddenly growled and charged towards Jesper.

Immediately, Jesper let out a howl and bounced up off the ground. 

“Ahh! This feral child just bit my ankle!”

Instead of rushing over to his husband’s side, Stefan scooped up the little girl in his arms. 

“She’s perfect! We need to adopt her!”

“She bit me!” Jesper dramatically held his ankle and hopped around in pain. 

“Get over it. Hal and Stig are going to claim Ulfred on their taxes so we need a kid to claim for ours to spite them.”

“But why this child? She bit me!” Jesper just couldn’t get over that one little fact.

“I think the fact that she bit you shows that she’s a perfect fit for this family.”

Jesper couldn’t argue with that and truth be told, he thought the girl had spunk. There was a lot of potential there and she reminded him of himself at that age. Or so he assumed that was what he was like. Jesper didn't really remember his early years. 

"Wait, do you really think we should be adopting a child? It's not just for taxes…" 

Stefan smiled gently at the frowning Jesper. “Jes, we’ve talked about this. I want to have a big family, we'll give this kid a good home, and we've been ready for a while. And it'll be hilarious." 

This settles it in Jesper's mind. "You're right. Let's add a child to our crew." 

Now with that question out of the way, it was time to focus on the really important issue. “What should we name her?”

Jesper grinned. “I have a name in mind. Wulfhilde.”

Stefan shook his head vehemently. He knew exactly where Jesper was going with this. “No, I will not name our daughter after Wulf. I refuse; he will be insufferable.”

“Come on, please hear me out,” begged Jesper. “I have actual reasons.”

Stefan didn’t say anything which Jesper took as a sign to continue. 

“First of all, she bit my ankle like some feral animal so I don’t think naming her after a wild animal is that out of line. Secondly, you know we’re going against Hal and Stig and they already have Ulf on their side. We need to divide this brotherband and the twins.”

“Only if we make her middle name Edvina. I want to butter Edvin up.” It was unclear to Stefan if naming their new daughter after Edvin would actually endear him to their tax plans, but it was worth a shot.

“I love the way you think.” Jesper gazed at Stefan in adoration until Wulfhilde bit his ankle again. 

Stefan picked her up and cradled his new daughter in his arms where she promptly fell asleep. “She’s beautiful.” 

Jesper wasn't super inclined to be generous since his ankle was throbbing, but the scene of Stefan holding his new daughter softened him up enough to wrap an arm around Stefan and peck his lips. 

"Our new family is beautiful."  
\--  
The next day, Stefan and Jesper called all the Herons to a meeting. Jesper started it off by saying, "We'd like to welcome the newest member of our crew: our daughter Wulfhilde Edvina."

For the second time in a year, the Herons were introduced to a child that had fallen onto them to take care of. This time, instead of freaking out and worrying immediately about where the child had come from, Edvin merely chose to spit out his precious coffee. The other Herons acted accordingly with dropped jaws and semi-offended stares from Stig and Hal, who hadn't expected another couple in the brotherband to adopt a kid so soon. 

Wulf started to tear up and grabbed Edvin into a celebratory hug which was not reciprocated. "You named your child after me and Edvin!"

"Yeah, we did! And unlike other certain people, it was deliberate." Stefan made sure to glare at Hal just to make sure everyone got the point. 

"For the last time, we didn't name Ulfred!"  
\--  
Name debates aside, the week until tax day was lovely. Ulfred and Wulfhilde got along nicely enough and Karina and Thorn were thrilled at having another child toddling around. Jesper did have to stop Thorn from giving Wulfhilde a knife after she tried to bite his hook again. 

Edvin had dutifully helped Borsa and Erak set up the collection table by the sand and the three men had spent the morning annoying Skandians into giving up their taxes. Borsa and Erak had both left for their "lunch break," but Edvin suspected he wouldn't see them for a couple of days. It didn't matter much, most of the taxes had already been collected and the rest would be gathered after everyone come back from the woods. 

From across the grass field, Edvin could see both sets of parents deposit their kids onto the small grassy mound with a small selection of toys and Edvin mentally prepared himself for the storm of emotions that would surely erupt. 

Hal and Stig, Stefan and Jesper close behind, came stomping up to the desk. 

"Where is Erak? We have our taxes." Stig's announcement was accompanied with a surly frown. 

"It's just me for now. Erak's taking his lunch break."

This elicited several scowls from his dear friends. 

“I refuse to have Edvin anywhere near my taxes! He is clearly biased!” Hal wasn’t wrong, but Edvin stepped aside anyway. He had been preparing for this all year and Edvin couldn’t stop a smile from creeping onto his face. He just couldn’t help it.

“It’s a good thing for you that I’ve trained some other assistants for Erak. Who would you rather look at your taxes: Ulf and Wulf or me?”

As if summoned, the two brothers popped out from under the table where they had been hiding. 

“Pick your poison.” 

“Edvin, I hate you.” Edvin grinned at the flat tone of Jesper's voice.

“Don’t hate the player, hate the game.” This phrase that Edvin coined off the top of his head accurately reflected his views towards the concept of taxes: that they were a game to be played and that he was a master player. If Edvin was talented in exploiting bureaucratic loopholes, why was that any different than being a talented shipbuilder or healer?

The twins sat down and held up quills, the picture of eager public servants, a facade that no one was particularly fooled by. 

“Come on Hal, let’s see the payment.”

There really was no winning for Hal and Stig. They had been put in an impossible choice: let Ulf and Wulf do their taxes and deal with the ensuing chaos or let Edvin deal with their taxes and deal with the vague sense of superiority that would be coming from him for weeks. 

With an air of bitterness, Stig handed the tax papers, but not the small, towards Ulf who accepted the papers with a grand flourish of his hand. Before Ulf could put on the spare pair of Ingvar's glasses he had borrowed for the week, Wulf snatched the papers out of his hand and peered at it. 

"I see you're filing a lot of deductions this year."

Stig wasn't having any of this nonsense. "Yes, well, we have another child now and lots of expenses. Edvin, we have to tel you some-" 

"Who's your first child?"

"Kloof. We managed to get joint custody with Lydia and Ingvar."

"Why not Thorn?" wondered Wulf. "He's the logical choice."

"Thorn refused our custody and it got a little testy. Apparently he and Great Aunt Winifredia like living with Lydia and Ingvar more. Who would've thought?"

As the grownups were arguing over taxes, Ulfred and Wulfhilde were playing together in the grass. This wouldn't normally be anything to take note of and the adults didn't notice how quickly the two kids had begun to fight over the small wooden figure that Ulf had given Ulfred. 

Ulfred was trying to wrest the small wolf away from Wulfhilde, who had stolen it from him. The little girl, however, wasn't letting it go without a fight. With a burst of strength, Wulfhilde pushed over Ulfred and clutched the wolf triumphantly in her arms while Ulfred started to cry.

The loud noise made everyone's heads whips towards the children. Hal's eyes widened when he saw Ulfred on the ground and immediately turned to Jesper.

"What did your daughter do?"

"What did my daughter do?

Hal gestured towards Wulfhilde and Ulfred still on the ground. "She obviously attacked him!"

It was already a pretty easy conclusion to make as Ulfred was crying, but to worsen matters, Wulfhilde took this moment to babble out some toddler nonsense at Ulfred, causing him to cry even more. 

“Excuse you!” Stig scooped up Ulfred into his arms. “How dare your daughter talk to my son like that?”

He turned to Wulfhilde."Apologize right now!"

Stefan, in retaliation, scooped up Wulfhilde, righteous indignation burning in his voice. “How dare YOU talk to my precious daughter like that!”

Ulf and Wulf looked on in sheer delight; they now understood why Edvin helped collect taxes every year. They were privy to some of the most entertaining confrontations the twins had ever seen. It was chaos and they were helping spread it. The fact that Wulfhilde was speaking baby gibberish to Ulfred was irrelevant between this titanic clash of new parents. 

In their glee, the twins missed part of the conversation which had quickly escalated. 

“I’m doing this for Ulfred!” shouted Hal.

“And I’m doing this for Wulfhilde!” 

Stefan screamed at Stig. "You didn't even adopt Ulfred. Temporary guardians at best! We adopted Wulfhilde!" 

"You run an underground criminal empire!" 

"Yeah, for my daughter!" retorted Jesper who failed to see why that might not be the best comeback. 

"A daughter you've had for a week!" 

Edvin sorely missed the simpler times where the only shenanigans around tax time were surprise marriages and leaving town to live in the woods for two weeks. He now fully understood why Erak hated collecting taxes. This was a nightmare. Why had Lydia and Ingvar abandoned him?

This was when the twins joined in the argument, hoping to cause chaos and pocket some of the taxes. 

"Cough up your taxes or we're going to have to arrest you and your kids!" Wulf sounded too gleeful at this possible situation. 

Both sets of parents swung around and turned their ire onto the twins. "Stay out of this!"

Ulf and Wulf didn't take kindly to being yelled at. "You need to pay your taxes or else we're arresting you! Gimme the cargo and income tax!"

"Over my dead body!" yelled Jesper. 

"That can be arranged!" Ulf stepped closer to Hal. "Give us the money now!"

"Ha," crowed Stefan. "Those losers are paying their taxes first!"

Stig was not about to let his and Hal's reputation be slandered like that. “JOKE’S ON YOU! WE’RE BANKRUPT! WE CAN'T PAY ANY MORE TAXES!" 

That stopped the teasing, though not for the reason Stig wanted. 

“Wait, what?” Ulf and Wulf's faces fell immediately. Everyone was staring at Stig and the force of the staring was making Stig uncomfortable with the realization he had messed up real bad. The questions started to surround Hal and Stig. “The brotherband is bankrupt? How are we getting paid?”

Wulf threw his knitted hat on the ground. “Is this a joke? If so, it isn't funny.”

“I’m not sure if this is a joke or not but you two are sitting down with me and we are pouring over every cent and all your records in painstaking detail to make sure we aren't bankrupt.”  
\--  
True to his word, Edvin made Hal and Stig sit down with all of the paper records Hal had kept for an entire day. A stack of papers surrounded the trio and Edvin had a stress headache coming on. 

"How can two people be so smart and successfully run a ship yet still be so irresponsible with their money?"

"We may have spent a lot more on baby supplies than we needed." In Edvin's opinion, Hal needed to sound a bit more repentant when he said that statement, but Stig wasn't having that. 

Stig protested the thought. "Ulfred has fine taste! He's entitled to nice things!"

"Did you really have to build a miniature sailboat for the kid? He's with us for one year. A year! Gorlog and Orlog, for such a good captain, you're terrible at budgeting for children." 

"In our defense, we've never taken care of a child before." 

Edvin rubbed his temple. He could feel grey hairs popping up already. "I'm going over to the tavern, grabbing a strong drink, and asking Rollond if he knows anyone who could do our budgeting from now on."

Hal and Stig stared at each other and shrugged. Bjorn was coming back soon to take Ulfred so the budget problem wouldn't happen again next year; everything was working out. They could go back and resume their newfound parental feud with Stefan and Jesper.  
\--  
A week later, Lydia and Ingvar rolled back up to Hallasholm wearing their new tunics embroidered with a bright floral pattern, drinks in hand, and Ingvar's special glasses perched on their noses. They're welcomed back to see Hal, Stig, Jesper, and Stefan all engaged in a passive-aggressive parental war which was unsettling but not wholly unexpected. Ingvar had privately called this little dispute ages ago, pretty much since the day Hal and Stig got Ulfred. 

Edvin came up to their small boat and quickly embraced them before hurriedly informing them that the brotherband had been temporarily bankrupt and then darting back off to the town hall. Ingvar stared at Lydia. Lydia pushed her glasses up on her head and stared back. 

"You wanna go back to Limmat?"

"I'd love to."

With that decision, Lydia and Ingvar promptly turned back to their boat and made their way back to Limmat.


End file.
